searchguy Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Hi Guys, I've recently returned from Seoul after having my rhinoplasty at Oz Clinic, I thought it would only be fair to give back to the community I've been lurking on by explaining how it went. To make things clear; I am an African American male who has never been to Korea before and do not speak any Korean. The reason I decided to go there was because of; -The higher level of expertise, -Higher level of understanding of flatter/ethnic noses, -Price was wayyy lower than anything stateside or in Europe. I had consultations in the US but they were seemed adamant I needed an implant, even though I didn't have a problem with my slightly lower nose bridge. After finding Purseblog and researching I initially I was considering VIP Clinic, JW, TheLine, ID, and Oz. Before arriving in Seoul and having my consultations I was very skeptical about OZ especially because another member on this forum have experienced bad results on eye surgery with them. Also; I read about a post by K Couture where she mentioned that she felt they had bad work practice from the time she visited for a consultation. I really respect her as a member but despite this, I went there anyway to see for myself. Of all 3 consultations I had I felt that OZ was the best for me. Obviously that's not to say that everyone would have the same experience as me, I just felt it was a good fit. So I am not going to recommend everyone go to OZ, I only want to explain what happened. Dr Park's clinic was very small compared to others, perhaps because he is the only doctor there but it was very well presented. I took panaromic photo from the reception: http://i.imgur.com/IGCjeIv.jpg The reasons I chose Oz are because he really seemed to understand how small and natural I wanted to change my nose. He also emailed with me back and forth perhaps 10 times asking every question before I even agreed to meet him, which let me feel that he was willing to take the time to understand my needs. When I got to the clinic he asked to repeat everything i wanted so he was 1000% sure he understood my desires, then he went into explaining everything he suggests to make that a possibility. We also chatted for 10 minutes afterwards and made some jokes about how we both visited Europe but it just rained everyday when he went I know this seems small, but in other consultations I had I never felt like I was talking to a person, just a business. In the end I ended up having the surgery two days later and we had agreed to Alar Reduction, Septal Cartilage Graft, and Osteotomy. All of these would be done a small amount so I still looked very similar just slightly improved. I wanted a natural look. On their website Dr Park has made a full breakdown of what each procedure actually does:http://www.ozclinic.co.kr/bbs/zboard.php?id=ecolumn&page=1&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=119 He doesn't have very many before and afters on his site which made me unsure at first whether to have a consultation, but in his actual clinic he has a book of 100s of before and afters. SO MANY of them. I was quite shocked when I realised just how many surgeries Korean doctors do in their life. The book had perhaps 5 examples of every type of procedure he's done for every type of nose. Russians, Turkish, Chinese all races, all wanting different things. It was fascinating to see how he improved them but they didn't look similar in any way. I was put under Twilight instead of General Anesthetic because Dr Park feels that it's much much much safer. I don't remember a thing. When I woke up they allowed me to rest in a bed for a few hours before I felt ready to walk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
searchguy Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 Day 1 - Post OP Fast forward to post op. I just want to warn you. Whoever you have your Op with, you will get very depressed. The 1st day following my operation I was surprised I had no pain just a feeling of heaviness on my head. I did however just worry that maybe I had done something wrong. I wondered what people might think, or whether or not I might look worse. Lots of doubts and sadness and looking in the mirror to see all those bandages wasn't fun. I had been given a whole bunch of drugs to take 3 times a day and I sat in the apartment watching TV just trying to get on with things. (Korean TV has english speaking channels, mainly action like Game of Thrones etc) One of the female nurses (who was ridiculously beautiful OMG that face was perfection) gave me a gel blindfold to put in the fridge and rest on my eyes to help with bruising. Photo: http://i.imgur.com/3sHEjeR.jpg When you come out of the Op you will have zero bruising but two days later you will get black eyes. If you don't use this gel pad (like I didn't, because I didn't think I needed it) then you'll find out for yourself.Day 2 Dr Park asked me to return to remove some of the bandages and clean the nose. I went via Subway with my mask (remember to ask for a mask after your operation so you feel comfortable walking around Seoul. If you are near Gangnam especially you will see people recovering from Surgery all the time and most people do not care. Minor facial surgery is seen in the same way as braces to improve your teeth are in the US!) They removed some bandages at the clinic and cleaned the area and told me to come back in 5 days. Try to remember that in Korea, surgery is like the dentist so if they seem very casual and not overtly caring it's because of the cultural differences. You might want to be carefully explained things, and given a reassuring rub on the shoulder but that's not how things are here. Day 3 Stay away from the mirror. Your nose is incredibly distorted right now. It's being pinched heavily by a cast, it's swollen even if it doesn't look like it. DO NOT assume that you can get a rough measure of what things look like through the cast. You can't. You won't be able to breathe, because of the swelling externally, internally, and because of the cast. You also shouldn't be trying to smile. Your smile won't work, because your face is being pinned down. If you try to smile and realize it looks f*cked up do not panic. In two weeks it will be back to normal. I recommend making sure you have Cotton Tips, Arnica Cream, and a Neck Pillow: http://i.imgur.com/eOoIgGb.jpg You should not be touching your nose, but warm water with cotton tips will help you clean it out a little. You'll ned the Arnica Cream to put around your eyes to help with bruising, and your nose is very delicate right now so I recommend sleeping with the Plane Neck Pillow for the first 3-4 days so you remain still and never smush your cast.Day 4 Everyday so far I had gone out under the cover of darkness to 7/11 or just to walk and get some fresh air. But this day I went out (with my mask and hoody on) took the subway and went to some tourist attractions. I saw the palace in Seoul and roamed around and nobody really cared if they noticed i had a cast on. Already feeling much better. I recommend going out and walking and seeing Seoul. I also recommend making sure you shower twice a day even if you aren't planning to go outside. It will make you feel much better and it's important to stay hygienic as normal after surgery.Day 5 Cast comes off today! Stitches off too. Kinda painful. Look in the mirror. It's still me but i look slightly photoshopped better. Haha. That's the best way I can describe it. It's like a before and after on make-up contouring or photoshop rather than a massive difference. I notice straight away I still can't smile properly just yet but I definitely see the improvement. My nose is slightly less wide, and the tip is narrower and slightly more defined. My 3/4 however looks bad. It's hilarious. Before I even say anything about it Dr Park explains this is because of the swelling that will take a many weeks to go down. The clinic then allowed me to by Kelocote scar treatment gel there and gave me lots of advice and to be very careful with my nose while it heals. My alar scars are so neat and tiny even after 5 days already and so is the columella scar. 2 weeks later My side profile after taking off the cast was horrible. It looked like he had pulled it so far forward and it was really unattractive. Then after a week of the swelling going down it became awesome! I honestly believe I might go my whole life without anyone ever noticing my alar and columella scars. The scars are near invisible and the gel really does seem to make it heal like normal tissue. Everything seems to be great so far, my nose is definitely improved in a subtle and natural way but I honestly haven't had a chance to meet up with people who know my face more. I do wonder if they will notice it immediately. All in all, I can't express how happy I am with the results. I still look like me, just a slightly photoshopped version. I experienced no pain, and Dr Park was there to reply to every and any concern I had throughout the healing process. Please be very careful not to be pressured into doing something you don't want (if you dont want an implant but people insist on it keep looking). Also, please consider improving your face slightly instead of drastic changes. A small change might be enough to completely overhaul your insecurities and ut is so much better to do a small change and then later you decide you want to improve it MORE, rather than do too much and try to somehow revert backwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blasian Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Thanks for the review SearchGuy. I have read some negative reviews about OZ, but glad that your surgery was a success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddybrown Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Thanks for the review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ulzzang-quest Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Great review SearchGuy, thanks for sharing! Adding a neck pillow to my packing list now! How was your experience with translating/language barriers, getting around, getting food etc? (I don't speak Korean either.) Thanks for bringing up the psychological effects afterwards too... I'm pretty sure I'm going to feel a little (or a lot) sad like OMG what have I done to my face and even miss my "baby" fat... good bye baby fat sniff sniff... but being in my 30's it's time to lose the baby face look... but still, it'll probably be bittersweet and I'll probably still miss it at times... plus having to abstain from nicotine at the same time will probably be hell on my psyche as well... but I do hope for a result like yours -- a slightly photoshopped version of myself now lol. Anyhow please keep us updated on your healing and progress! Hope your results and feelings about it are only getting better and better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanda-x Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Great review SearchGuy! Thank you for sharing with us. Glad to hear your story is a success! Happy for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimilov Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 You went by yourselve to korea? How did you comunicated with the people? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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